
Class£^3i2,3 



Book .IL^f 'sr^ 
CopyiightN^. '^'"^ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSre 



VERSES 



By 



MATHILDE JUNGE 




Boston 
THE ROXBURGH PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. 









THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED 

to the 

MEMORY OF MY FATHER 

HERMAN JUNGE 



FEB 23 1914 

^CI.A369051 



Copyrighted 1914 
By MATHILDE JUNGE LUETKEMEYER 



All Rights Reserved 



\ 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

A Craving IS 

A Daffodil 98 

A Dream 64 

A Friend 72 

A Glimpse of the Lake . . . .i 60 

Alas! 63 

Alonzo I 105 

A Maiden's Charm 32 

A Memory 58 

An Impression at Sea 77 

Apology 9 

A Portrait 73 

A Rainy Day 16 

A Rondo 85 

At Riverside 60 

At St. Cergues 88 

At Sundown , 57 

At the Cathedral of Magdeburg 87 

Bless Him! 85 

Blessings of the Dying 112 

Come, Sleep 44 

Compensation 36 

Cupid 76 

Dancing Sunbeams 42 

Death 69 

Deep Calm 26 

Delight in a Friend 40 

Ecstasy 31 

Entreaty to Joy 47 

3 



PAGE 

Exanimus 92 

Farewell 55 

Father! 13 

Forgive ! 20 

For Mankind's Comfort 30 

Gaea's Sunshine 73 

Greeting 9 

Hail, Bacchus ! 32 

Happy 76 

Have Mercy ! 54 

Hawthorne 56 

Heidelberg 95 

Huneker's Mezzotints 37 

I'm Not Happy 101 

Influence 5g 

In the Country 52 

Italy gg 

It is too Late jy 

Landscape at Evening 3g 

Law — (A Fragment.) gg 

Let Me Die ! ^04. 

Life's Zephyr Breezes ^2 

Life and Death 22 

Lonely 25 

Longing , 20 

Love 22 

Love Infinite ^o 

Lovers -ig 

Mademoiselle Marie -j^-j^q 

Memory g-j^ 

Monsieur et Madame Curie io9 

Morning Thunderstorm 77 

My Brother 104 

My Dearest 109 

My Love 99 

My Love for Thee 23 

My Native Country , go 

New Love Ig 



PAGE 

Nigbt 44 

Juventa ! 48 

Old St. Saviour's 70 

Once More 11 n 

Phantasy 16 

Please ! 46 

Poetry 25 

Poet's Aim 67 

Prayer 35 

Que Je Suis Heureux 56 

Reaching out to the Infinite 51 

Recovered 63 

Remembrance 110 

Sacred 54 

Santa Lucia Ill 

Snoopsy 114 

Spring 11 

Spring Morning 15 

Striving for the Unattainable 49 

Saint Valentine Eve 74 

Suffering 10 

Sweetheart 53 

Temptation 39 

Thank Fate! 96 

The Anchor 108 

The Birth of Faith 11 

The Bittersweet 65 

Thee and Me IO3 

The Ever New 97 

The French Alexandrine 49 

The London Sabbath. lOO 

The Marguerite 4I 

The Seasons I7 

The Silence of Night 77 

The Soul's Resolve I4 

The Striving Soul 21 

The Student Days are Past 117 

The Tragedy, Life 116 

5 



PAGE 

The Water-Nymph! 28 

They know not Love 24 

Thine Eyes 74 

Thou 68 

Thought on High 27 

To a Friend 66 

To a Friend on Vacation 43 

To a Maiden 68 

To a TraveUng Companion 50 

To be at One! 107 

To Sorrow 61 

To the Absent 59 

To Thee 98 

To the Moon 55 

Unworthy 106 

Vieux Chateau 91 

With Patience 97 

Woman 94 

Woman and Man is Perfection 102 

You 48 

You and I 119 

Your Influence 45 

Youthful Love : 46 



VERSES 



VERSES 

Shall I really venture to risk the strongest 

censure. 
Really fling the flail to thresh out straw, 

and hail 
Invoke upon these shoulders, yea, well-nigh 

Alpine bowlders. 
Where I would fain enlist to please with 

thoughtful gist? 

Ay, patience is a virtue, whose practice can- 
not hurt you. 

And goodness of a trend, a limit, still un- 
kenned ; 

So, therefore, pray, do spare me, if now I 
crudely dare be 

Presumptuous and audacious, to fill these 
lines ungracious. 

(Bttttins 

Joy and contentment shall be all thy days. 
Thou shalt walk on hereafter in happiness' 

ways; 
May today be complete as thy heart's wishes 

view, 
And yearly return just as joyful anew! 



VERSES 



I cannot find my sleep tonight, 
Thoughts are of him in grief ; 

O Lord, forgive the dreadful blight 
That, faithless, I unsheaf! 

O friend, my heart feels deep for thee, 
Forgive what I have done, 

And know, when thou art passion-free 
Thou freedom shalt have won! 

Forget me, fling me far away, 
Yes, hate me, scorn, disdain; 

But do not suffer day by day, 
Thy sorrow brings me pain! 




10 



VERSES 

Spring: 

What can be more beautiful, 
What in nature have more charm, — 
Surly Winter, old and gray. 
Spreads to youthful Spring his arm! 

Timidly the youth appears. 
Modestly in sight he comes, 
But when once a foothold sets. 
Soon demands all world to reign. 

Then the Winter's steps retreat, 
And fair Spring holds righteous rule; 
Soon a youth he'll be no more. 
But to Summer will have grown. 



In sorrow's cavernous depths 

Religious faith is born; 
The heart, that yearned in darkness, 

It is no more forlorn: 
Out of the mine of grief 

Is brought the gold of hope 

11 



VERSES 

JLobt 

Love knows no name but, Love! 
Love sees no aim but love, 
Love's passions' might is love, 
Love's boundless flight is love. 
Love's cherished hope is love, 
Love is the pope of love. 

I awake in the morning, 
'Tis love that is dawning; 
Lay a-rest in the evening, 
And love is not leaving. 

'Tis love in my beaming. 
And love in my dreaming; 
'Tis love in my walking, 
And love in my talking, 

'Tis love in my reading, 
And love in my beading; 
'Tis love makes all sorrow, 
'Tis love makes earth's heaven. 

Two eyes that are beaming, — 
'Tis love from them streaming — 
Two others are showing 
Where a heart is o'erflowing. 

12 



VERSES 



Two lips speak of Beauty, 
Earnest, and Duty; 
A heart, all-embracing, 
A mind, all good tracing. 



I think of you not sadly, 
For yours is joyful Peace; 

I think of you e'en gladly, 
You rest in Earth's release. 

No worry knows your morrow, 
Your spirit lives full well, 

And though our flesh has sorrow, 
Your soul of Calm doth tell. 

You hover ever near us, 

Your presence soothes the pain; 
The Good through you unites us 

To One Eternal chain. 

The finite of existence, 

Which death doth claim to end. 
Is but a weak resistance, — 

To the Infinite doth trend. 



13 



VERSES 

Ah! Joyful hope of Meeting! 

Ah! Sweetest Recompense! 
Yes, Somewhere must be Greeting 

Of Souls, when flesh is hence. 



m 



I want to forget him, forget him at heart, 
Live only for music, for poetry, art; 
Have nought but the memory that once he 

was mine. 
That mine he still be, and not need I pine. 

The heart that awaketh, awaketh the mind; 
The soul, that hath slumbered, saith: 

"See thou, thou blind. 
Thy senses now open, thy tongue, let it free. 
From God to Humanity all good given be." 

*'The Beautiful now let thee solely inspire. 
Truth, Goodness be embers to thy life's fire. 
Away with the matter, away with the time. 
Away with the physical, — the mind and 
soul rhyme." 

( 



VERSES 

The ochre maple, ohve poplar, 

The zinnobre of the larch and willow, 

The darkness of the spruce and hemlock. 

The luring red-hued Judas tree, 

The buckeye bud so large, unfolding. 

The quincebush blossom, scarlet red, 

A distant light of pink on peach tree. 

The brown of limb is almost hid; 

The grace of bough and wave of branches, 
The dancing of the merry twig, 
The nodding, kissing, fond embracing, — 
Ah, Spring, what joy, what promise this ! 
A modest sky of blue and cloudlets. 
Hangs softly o'er this jubilee; 
In distance shades to hues of roses. 
And thence into the unknown sea. 
Ah, hark, how chirps the sparrow's call- 
ing, 
How rolls and pearls the robin red, 
How gurgles, twitters every being, 
And shines the sun with balm o'erhead! 
'Tis harmony and calmness, spreading 
From all the budding sounds and sights ; 
'Tis peace transcends unto the living. 
And hope, and life, and health, and light. 

15 



VERSES 

Of his sweet kisses let me think, 
Of his dear, fond embrace; 

Of his bright eyeglance let me drink, 
In his soul me enlace! 



Si IBlainp 2Da^ 

The fog, the rain, the filthy air 
Speak not of joy nor sunshine fair; 
The gray, the dreary gloom overhead 
Reflects within a muddy bed. 

The monotone of drop on drop. 
Drawls out its melancholy chant; 

The hush about a lonely stop 

Foreshadows grief, — a human cant. 

The darkest future gropes before. 
The saddest past has closed the door ; 
The present is a state of war, 
Eternity the only lore. 

16 



VERSES 

Jit M ^00 Hatt 

Whoe'er has drunk from sorrow's well, 
Has found the spring a bitter draught; 

Whoe'er has sat in sorrow's cell, 
Has found therein a deadly waft. 

The heart feels heavy, chill and blunt, 
It dies beneath the glacier's weight; 

No huntsman there need dare to hunt, — 
Alas ! 'tis crushed ! — It is too late ! 

AUTUMN 

Calm, sweet, dusky night. 
Veiled by a clouded light; 
Hidden moon and silent star 
Reign within the realm afar. 

WINTER 

Cold, chill, creaking air, 
Gelid silver everywhere; 
Icy-crystal stars above. 
Bleak the light from Luna's cove. 

17 



VERSES 
SPRING 

Fond, tender, loving light, 
Fairest hope of future bright; 
Budding leaf and blossom pink 
Beckon in the crescent's blink. 

SUMMER 

Grapevine blossom, roses sweet 
Waft their perfume, love to meet; 
Oriole and nightingale 
Sing to eve, "Love, hail! all hail!" 

Love! Love! Once again 

Bright, sweet, calm, dear love! 

Hope, peace not in vain 
Ring, sing from above. 

Eyes, lips, smiles that speak 

Pure, fair, faithful love; 
Heart, mind, fond and meek, 

Coo, woo, like a dove. 

Storms, stays, love has felt, 

Staunch, brave kept its course; 

Faith, truth wove a belt 

Deep, wide, 'round its source. 

18 



VERSES 

Waves of love, they thrill the soul, 

Edify the suffering heart, 
Glorify the distant goal, 
Sanctify the present whole ! 

Words of love, what peace they sing! 

Sweet the strains of future hope. 
Life and joy anew they bring, 
When from lovers' lips they ring. 

Gilded moonlight sheds its beams 

Over two that are as one; 
From their eyes light fairer gleams, 
Each a star in heaven seems. 

Measured step, clasped arm in arm. 

Thought to thought, and soul to soul, 
Angels they, and gods disarm. 
Love divine in them the charm! 

Si Ctabmg 

God, Soul, Nature, we cry to thee, 
Implore thee to open thy mystery; 
We meet thee with heart and mind free to 

be 
A part of thee, Thee. Love, Eternity! 

19 



VERSES 

JLonQirtQ 

The mourning dove is sighing, 
I on the couch am lying, 
And wishing for the dying 

Of earthly flesh and pain. 
My soul seeks for a Kingdom, 
Where 's naught but Love and Wisdom, 
And where Humanity's Freedom 

Reigns supreme of all. 



jfotgibt 

Can harsh words be ne'er forgot, 
Impetuous deeds so long gone by? 

Cannot time make faint the blot, 
That has blurred a friendly tie? 

Will the mem'ry of joys past 

Ne'er delight the present gloom? 

Shall they all have been the last, — 
Such a wretched being's doom? 

Pray forgive, and have forgotten ! 
Let those days be far gone past. 
For regret has since then trodden, 
Where but joy should have been cast. 

20 



VERSES 



The spirit rises effervescent, high, 
To realms ideal, beyond the sky; 
Unlimited happiness there resounds, 
All nature free in nature's bounds. 

The soul drinks strength from nature's 

source, 
And onward, upward, in its course, 
Perpetuates eternal bliss: 
In Beauty, Truth, goes ne'er amiss. 

In struggle, strife, its progress finds, 
And when at length Death rends the 

blinds, 
It soars to cognate spirit lives, 
In nature's kingdom delves and dives. 




21 



VERSES 



I 

BEYOND 

There is a shore 

Where Hfe's no more ; 

Skeletons of the past 

Have told their last; 
The waves flow calmly, meekly, kindly, 
No passion's roar of breakers sounds: 
The life of earth is there found ended, 
A Life of Joy with Peace is blended. 

II 

HERE 

The heart oft sad, 

The mind rare glad, 

All future hopes 

Unwind like ropes; 
The battle of life is racing, shrieking, 
No good unless it self enhance: 
One bliss with this sad fate would mingle, 
That He will say : "The gold key jingle." 



22 



VERSES 

9^jf Eobe Cot tILSee 

Why feel I so sad and so dreary, 
So lonely and downcast and weary? 
I love thee, yet find in this passion 
A sorrow that fills me with grief. 

I love thee, and see in thy glances 
A faith and a love that entrances ; 
Thy sweetness brings calm to my longing, 
And yet I am suffering with grief. 

Oh, tell me! When thou seest the wealing. 
The melancholy oft o'er me stealing, 
Dost think that thou canst bear the burden 
To cheer me, when I am in grief? 

Ah, love, I do love thee so truly. 
Do cherish thy good heart so fully. 
Yet wonder, if thou canst be wholly 
Content, with the love that I give ! 

Come, tell me thy life and its pleasures, 
And cheer me in love's sweetest measures ! 
Come, let me bestow all the treasures. 
That hide in this dark, hidden cell ! 



98 



VERSES 



Though dark is the recess that batters, 
Yet well-nigh in threads and in tatters 
It rends all its walls, and in shatters, 
When thy footsteps hark at the gate. 




l^dep UnotD Mot %o\}t 

And 'tis you they have called cold, 
You, whose kiss is fervent glow, 
Whose embrace, love, fetters so! 

You, whose heart does beat and batter, 
Sweet and sweeter flows love's strain— 
You, a passionate maiden's swain! 

Let us cry to farthest shores. 
That he knows not love's domain, 
Who can such of aught proclaim! 

34 



VERSES 

Musical rhythm of sounds that please the 

imagination, 
Thus begins the effect of pure, inspiring 

poesy; 
Then, as the emotion is scaling the climax 

to new ideation. 
Mingled with mental conception, reaches 

the aesthetic summit, 
Imagination, emotion, and thought united 

in ideal relation. 
Carry human life beyond the material ex- 
istence, 
Call out the spirit divine, and wed the soul 

to creation. 

Lonely, sad, not understood 
In your yearning, longing ! 
Not a soul, that, in this world, 
Knows your thirsting, gnawing ! 

Not a mind, that meets you halfway, 
Not a heart, that knows your love, 
Not a soul, that soars on with you, 
In your striving for humanity ! 

25 



VERSES 

Naught but passion, narrow feeling, 
Naught but each for his own self; 
Naught for humankind, for goodness, 
Yea, no aim for truth itself ! 

Go alone, then, heavenly impulse, 
Pass unknown through life's long course; 
Misconceived be and derided. 
Shrink within, yet work, work on ! 

SDtep Calm 

Words can no longer tell. 
What the heart feels deep within ; 
Unlimited, unbounded the spell, 
That radiates from end to begin. 

Not the glow, that absorbs with intensity, 
Not the frost, to the germ bringing chill, 
'Tis the warm, deep, broad, harvest sun- 
shine. 
That sweetens the vine on the hill. 

On the hill that is rising high skyward, 
On the top of which shines the fair goal ; 
To eternity the future alluring. 
Though the present a beauteous whole. 

29 



VERSES 

^^oufsit on ^iei 

Were I but a man, to content my inner 

longing, 
To follow up the heart in its tense, deep 

vein, 
To tread my eager footstep whither life is 

thronging. 
Out in the free, clear, open world's domain ! 

To battle with the wrong, and to conquer 

down the sin, 
To warn the men that on the yielding 

woman sore are treading; 
To cheer the soul outworn, that in fright 

and in din 
Is groping for the freedom, that so slow to 

her is spreading! 

Sister, take the banner and hold it to the 

sky: 
"Though woman is a lover, she also has a 

mind." 
Let the men then grapple until they come on 

high, 
You, a soaring eagle, o'er snow-clad summit 

find. 



27 



VERSES 

There, upon a tree-top, set your nest to 

build ; 
Be not but a sparrow, that gossips with the 

guild ! 
Be the radiant sunshine, that melts the snow 

about, 
But, too, the master learner, the teacher 

most devout ! 

Be the incense-burning of virtue, moral 

strength, 
The temple of divinity, a woman in all its 

sense ! 
But let that banner guide you through love, 

and life at length, 
May thus the men both love you, and honor 

you forthhence! 



^^t dfliattt iBpmpS 

She peeps out from the shore's green ver- 
dure, 
Begirded with a gilded veil, 
Ensnares the boatman, lures him marsh- 
ward, 
Then leaps upon the sunlit sail. 

28 



VERSES 

Then back again to bush and thicket 

She darts, with Hthesome leap and smile, 

Allures him with her glance, and wicked, 
Enraptures, trances him with guile. 

Hah ! boatman ! Watch your skiff more 
dearly. 

Be not a phantom's foolish wreck; 
'Tis but a maid of Neptune's kingdom, 

The reeds and rushes warn your deck. 

But now, behold ! She doffs her garments. 
Within her tresses wraps her limbs, 

Then bounds upon the boom to forward, 
And siren-like, sweet songs she hymns. 

The pilot harks, is scarce attentive 
That stern and rudder are at bay, 

That rocks and roots, and swampy off- 
shoots 
Are dangers, that his hand should stay. 

He gazes, winds his steps to boomward. 
Seduced by yonder eyes of blue; 

Yon waving of the hand to leeward, 
Yon ringlets' sunbeams lure him too. 

39 



VERSES 

He bends his body, only conscious 
Of joy roused by the spectre's sight; 

Beware! That spirit gHdes to Orcus, 
Decoys you from the heavenly light! 

Lo! Suddenly gone the ghostly vision! 

Woe! Gone the man of lurid sense; 
A gurgle in the gloomy waters; 

Alas ! Alas ! Forever hence ! 




The heart has ended its mourning, 

And peaceful, its gentle flow 
Is rising for humankind's solace, 

That oppressed ones may cheerfully go 
Where the paths, that are sweetened with 
roses 

And shaded with the graces of elms, 
Whose pasts were but thorns and sun's 
glowings. 

May be comfort and joy to their aims. 

30 



VERSES 

Each wave moves on to kiss the shore — 
Each wondering thought would nothing 

more — 
The shore of joy, the shore of bUss, 
Where peace and happiness are His. 

The waving waters cause a thrill, 
And fill the heart with love, good will; 
The clouds, that hang in yonder sky, 
Reveal a love supremely high. 

Ah, clouds, far off, to you I tell 
The joy, the bliss this heart befell ; 
As yonder space of beauteous blue. 
So pure, so high my love for — You! 

But who this You, I need not tell. 
The birds, the trees, the flowers know well; 
The world shall know it by and by. 
When spirit, heart and mind are high. 

And still the waters laugh and rush. 
Each wave greets others with a gush; 
The sky smiles sweetly on the whole, 
And love for all is in this soul. 

31 



VERSES 

Si ^eLititn*0 CJatm 

Ah, maid, who delv'st in love's deep depths. 

In love's sweet luring heights, 
Who spread' St the warm, the glowing 
charm. 

Divergent, from thy hallowed heart, 
Thou sooth'st, allur'st, restrict'st, drawest 
on, 

Send'st waves of lofty thought, 
Bedim'st, beguil'st, bewilderest, wil'st, 

Inspir'st the heart with purest light. 

Would ye be joyful, 

Then drink ye this wine; 
In it be forgetful 

Of custom and time. 

Would ye be truthful, 

Yourselves would ye be. 
And speak your heart freel}^ 

Then drink, full of glee. 

Inspired with devotion. 

Raised far above earth, 
Ye'd float in the ocean 

Of love, and of mirth. 

32 



VERSES 

Ye'd sing of fair women, 

Of beauteous climes; 
Good cheer would ye summon, 

With music and chimes. 

Ye'd dance a wild chorus, 

In wit would outdo 
The flight of swift Hermes, 

Be youthful anew. 

Ye'd raise your cup gleeful, 

Oblivious of woe, 
''Yea, wine," ye'd cry cheerful, 

''Thou'rt master of foe! 

''Thou'rt spirit of spirit, 

In thee we are selves, 
With thee we do merit 

The joy of sweet elves ! 

''O Bacchus! We praise thee. 
We raise thee on high; 

O Venus ! Adore thee 
To Jupiter nigh. 

''Apollo we hallow. 

The Muses invoke; 
Euterpe we follow. 

In Erato hope. 

33 



VERSES 

* 'Terpsichore offer 

Our homage with joy; 
CalHope proffer 

Our poesy coy. 

''O Bacchus of Semele! 

Bacchantes we be, 
Thy fauns be eternally, — 

'Tis thou set'st us free ! 

"We love thee forever. 
Devote at thy shrine 

Our heart, and not sever 
Our spirit from thine. 

"In wine we do frolic. 
In wine we do live, 

In wine we are equal, 
In wine ourselves give!' 




34 



VERSES 



Lord, that dwellest in nature, 
Lord, that rulest the world. 
Lord, that art master of passion, 
Inspire the heart with thy love! 

Thou, who dost live in each bosom. 
In each little cell dost thy work, 
Invisible, yet not unknowable, 
Be guide to the soul bent on good ! 

As thou sowest the love seed in action, 
Forewarn thus the mind to be just ! 
Lead onward perception to beauty, 
But centre each deed in thy trust! 

Be the light that inspired each longing 
For love, and for beauty and truth. 
For wisdom, for courage and temperance, 
For justice, the essence of faith. 



35 



VERSES 



Compn^ation 

MAN 

Will there come no moment ever, 
When, content, I say, ''Do stay!"? 

Shall the heart yearn on forever, 
Must the mind crave truth alway? 

Will there ne'er be satisfaction, 
Ne'er the joy of the ideal; 

Such the only compensation, — 
The ideal lures forth the real? 

Cannot Peace give full contentment, 

Will not Beauty gratify, 
E'er Religion raise resentment, 

Love itself ne'er satisfy? 

Must the human kind be whining. 

Climbing ever on and on? 
Will not Death e'en end the pining, 

Never come the light of dawn? 



36 



VERSES 



DIVINITY 



Nay, — though't seem but void endeavour, 

Vying, with an effort vain, 
Nay, my spirit not forever 

Shall contend with man in pain. 

'Tis for this that thou art flesh-made, 
That in sweat, from virtue's toil, 

Thou may'st clamber on, till Death's blade 
Send thee hence from pining's soil. 

Then, whoe'er has acted righteous, 
Shall be saved from deluge's grave, 

Shall leave strife behind, unconscious, 
In pure spirit's realm shall lave. 



(SL. 



Thou'rt a rhapsodist, of artistic whims, 
Impetuous, emotional, not yet sublime; 

Thou pleasest with thy florid gems, 
And with thy frankness oftentime ; 
Thy Poe-adoration is expressive. 
Thy Chopin-devotion highly laudative. 



VERSES 



Eantigicape at Cbening 

The sun's yellow course is reaching the end, 

Horizontally rays are covering the land ; 

Green fields of maize are dark in their ver- 
dure, 

Ripe wheat is heaped in shadowy hills; 

The cattle are lowing for water and fodder. 

While longer and longer the shadows ex- 
tend. 

The forest to east but a cold, black barri- 
cade. 

And dark is the wall of each house and 
haystack. 

Alternate in yellow and bright green the 
meadows 

Allure the eye to the far western view; 

Dark hedges of bushes, and fences of rail- 
ings 

Point out where the limits of pasturage 
cease ; 

Potato fields thriving, the oats yellow ripe: 

A picture of rural and sweet, peaceful life. . 



38 



VERSES 

temptation 

As Faust abhors carousing, 
Through love to sin gives proof, 
Stands firm of ambition aloof, 

And though Beauty in Helen espousing, 
Finds no content in his soul. 
But strives for a nobler goal, 

For Humanity's freedom and activity, — 
As expectation, not realization, 
Hope, through its contemplation, 
Raise him aloft among men. 
Urge him to go onward again ; 

So struggles the sense in each being, 
So rises or falls he through love. 

So must he from power be fleeing. 
Ere quite it ensnare in its flow 
The soul, that is striving to grow 

To higher good, for beneficence ; 
So must he surrender the ideal 
Of art, when experienced as real, 

Or perish at Galatea's magnificence, 

Ere reached be the highest activit}^ 

For the world's uplifting and munificence ; 
So only can he develop, 

So clarify the soul in its course ; 
Then will reward him envelop. 

When one with Creation, — his source. 

39 



VERSES 

^tliQit in a iftunti 

How my heart palpitates at the thought. of 

thee. 
How my mind wanders back to thy presence 
with glee ! 
Can it be that thou lovest me? 
Friendly speak, I entreat thee ! 

How thy charm flows soft o'er my spirit 

rough and wild, 
How thou drawest out the good with thy 
manner gentle, mild ! 
Why is my tongue so free, 
Art thou but near to me? 

How an unfeigned, joyous glance speaks so 
honest to me. 

How thy voice appears ever agential to be! 
Art thou the counterpart to me, 
In temperament soothing and free? 

How pure is th}^ speech, and how lofty is 

thy thought. 
How reverest thou the right, and of evil 
knowest naught ! 
Yea, thou art dear to me, 
As only friend can be. 

40 



\^ E R S E S 

Dear Marguerite of modest hue, 
White and gold, and moist with dew 
You charm the eye amid the grasses, 
And sway your head with each fair wind 
That stirs the timothy in wavy dint. 

You look upon the sun's warm glow 
With ever open glance, and grow 
Erect upon your slender stem, 
Of modest pride, subdued, demure, 
Among your sister comrades, pure 
Like she, whose name you bear as proof 
Of sweet and heavenly innocent love. 

No fragrance charms the passing crowd, 

For one alone you are endowed, 

For him, who plucks you from your soil, 

Upon his breast a victim, spoil ; 

And when your head begins to droop, 

He chides his heart, that it could dare 

To have done harm to one so fair; 

He swears that never blossom more 

Will he bear off from its own floor. 



41 



VERSES 

SDancing feunbeamjS 

Twinkling, dancing, sprinkling sundrops 

Gliding o'er the esplanade 
Golden 3^ellow ; dark blue shadows 

Join them on the promenade; 
Tickling eyes, and sweet sensations 

Drawing in their merry flight, 
You'll not grasp them; they are fleeting; 

Swift are fled from out your sight. 

fLitf0 XtpfiVt 15ttt}t0 

Gentle breezes, the zephyrs, sweep through 

the airy boughs. 
Soft sighs like lovers, recall love's early 
vows ; 
They come, they go, and oft return, 

Are sweet to each new ear, 
Are hushed when nature lies at rest, 

In springtime new appear. 
They soothe the memory sore with strife, 
Give comfort to a weary life. 
Infuse with hope of coming joy, 
E'en though they are but nature's toy. 
The gentle breezes, like zephyrs, sweep 

through the hoary boughs. 
Soft sighs, the angels, reveal God's heavenly 
vows. 

42 



• VERSES 

^0 a jftienli on l^acation 

So thou art out of town today, 
Tomorrow, surely very gay! 
When in betrothed one's arms you lie, 
Each glance so sweet from her fair eye, 
Then, pra}^, do but one moment spare 
To think of friends, who have had share 

Of your esteem, your deep regard; 
Then fast forget the world of care, 

And be of naught but love a bard. 



^ 



Eobe InUnitt 

Love knows no end, 

Love ne'er is spent ! 
Though tempest tears its case asunder, 
Though lightnings blast it, rends it thunder, 
Though arctic frost and tropic heat 
Destroy the frame, wherein love's seat, 
Though floods flow o'er the jewel shrine, 
Or earthquake bury it, or brine, 
The gem divine will ne'er lose worth, 
But purer, fairer be each birth ; 
Yea, love's sublime, circuitous course 
Outreaches life: — preternatural force! 

43 



VERSES 

Come, ^leep! 

Not yet enough of restless dreaming-? 

O sleep, come to my weary breast! 
O slumber, let thy wings be gleaming 

Upon this body, sore, distressed ! 
Give balsam to my tired spirits, 

Drop gently o'er these weary lids, 
Bestow upon these limbs their merits 

For toils, wrought as the daylight bids! 
Let muscle, nerve, each sinew's tension 

Be loosened in submissive rest, 
Let thoughts be gone ; in sweet ascension 

The mind within thy power be blest! 

Moonlit clouds are floating softly. 
Breezy boughs a-waving, lofty; 
Night is flying, peaceful, gently, 
Sighing, dying, breathing, wreathin^j, 
Sweetly soothing, calmly seething; 
Loving life in deepest slumber, 
Spinning dreams in countless number, 
Strewing rest with sweet assurance. 
Dusk the morn of life's endurance. 



44 



VERSES 



gout InUmnte 

Man, you have done no good to me, 
You have drawn only evil and sin from me. 
You have brought out the wicked in my 

nature, 
Have enslaved me to thoughts gross and 

base. 

You have sealed my lips with stubbornness, 
You have lured forth a state of revengeful- 

ness. 
You have given me no impetus for action, 
You have clipped the wings of my thought. 

You have buried the instinct of sacrifice, 
You have stained my heart with selfishness. 
You have shaken my high, moral standard. 
Have made me a prey to dire hatred. 

But anew will I rise from these ashes. 
Will work in high fields yet unknown. 
Will soar with new strength yet untested, 
Rise good, noble, true to my own. 



45 



VERSES 

Sweet clarions of music swell the breast 
That heaves in hopeful longing; 

It casts its claim with all the rest 
Unto a rosy dawning; 

In mellow tones it sings its song, 

That heart that still is tender, young. 

On cheerful, dewy morn it beats 

Within a breast of sunshine ; 
Through meadow^ and through grove it 
fleets, 

Through bower of the woodbine; 
Loud tones flow from young tallied hearts, 
Sweet fragrance from love's blossom parts. 

Let not the tie where love a liege, 

Be torn so fast asunder! 
Though tastes may differ, yet no breach, 

Please, let my heart prey under! 

I see no path that leads to light, 

In darkness I, unwonted; 
And still I feel this path is right, 

Though lonely, dark, e'en haunted. 

46 



VERSES 

Cntteatg to 3og 

O Joy, it is so sad to part, 

To leave thee, so benign; 
The heart a-quiver with youthful dart, 

It must refrain, decline! 

O Joy, thou art youth's only quest. 
Thou touch'st my heartstring still; 

And yet, O Joy, I must bequest 
Thee to the past — Be still ! 

Alas, thy music trips my feet, 
My heart leaps to thy strain, 

My voice sings songs of past so sweet,— 
O Joy, must I refrain? 

Just once more let me lead the ball. 
Just once more dance the waltz, 

Just once more grace the banquet-hall, 
And then, Joy, pla)^ me false! 

Then let me be content with joy 

That is not of thy kin. 
Then let me labor, work ; decoy, 

Forget thy w^orldh^ din! 



47 



VERSES 

Sou 

How dare you judge of her ethical value, 

You, who know not the facts of the case ? 
How dare you think she was guilty and un- 
true. 
You, who see but the game, not the chase ? 
Oh, pity! That you, who so subtle, full of 

justice, 
Should not feel that she ne'er could have 
done such a deed, 
But with judgment and suffering. 
With mind and heart guided, 
Persistence, yet courage, 
With sacrifice, self-scourge! 
Mind well, there is knowledge known but by 

one knower! 
Pay heed, there is action judged by but one 
Doer! 

^ iubenta^ 

Oh, could I call back days gone past 

Of joy, of sorrow, all! 
Oh, could I say, — "They're not the last, 

They're not gone by, not all !" 
Oh, come once more, youth, come again, 
In happiness I'll greet thee then! 

48 



VERSES 

fetttbing tor t^t Mnattsiinablt 

What is it that does urge me on, 

That never gives me rest, 
That spurs and pains, ne'er satisfies, 

That drives me to despair? 
Not music, love, nor art can stave it. 

Not learning rest the craving. 
What is it tears both soul and body? 

Is it a God seeks passage earthward ? 
Is it a spirit seeks to pierce me? 

It seems to promise joy if reached. 
And still it pains me unachieved ; 

It seems to be the bliss of living, 
And yet the promise but of dying ; 

It whips me from behind, before. 
It draws me to a joyful shore. 

And yet it never lets me pass there. 
But always wends itself much faster 

Until a madness, sort of nightmare. 
Is solely payment for the craving. 

W^t JftencJ ^Itmnhtint 

Why should your rhyme be so mechanic. 
Your rhythm trite and monotonic? 

In music is rhythm. 

But rhythm is not music. 

49 



VERSES 

Tlo a ^tabdtng Companion 

Thou art a rarity, an oddity, — 

But thou dost lack that which thou should'st 

not; — 
Thou art resigned through disappointment; 
But why resign? Why stake Hfe's tide so 

low? 
Why ebb when thrill of youth is still within 

thee? 
Awake! Arise! Begin anew another theme! 

Life's song symphonic flows along: 
The Introduction and Adagio gone, 
Let Schersoes of a Beethoven appear; 
Sweet melancholy soon will dwindle small 
To life's whole fulness, as the end draws 

near; 
'Tis not a Coda closeth such a life, 
A grand Finale crowneth all this strife! 

Thou art physician; let that be a cause 
Wherein much good and greatness rest; 
Seek a fair maid, build thee a hearth thine 

own, 
Let past be past, and future gleaming bright 

ahead. 



50 



VERSES 



Thou art so kind, so even-tempered, good, 
It gives one cheer to meet thee so; 
But keep thy standard brandished ever high, 
Most evident to every searching eye! 



<j^ 



HSitSLt^inQ flDut to t^t InUnitt 

The world is far too close for me, 
Too small, too limited, confined ; 

The heavens are too low, can be 
A footstool only, for my mind. 

My heart swells waves unknown in end, 

My soul knows no restrained extent. 



<^ 



9^tmotv 

We have a sensation, retain it ; 
Recall it, which then is remembering it. 
The sensation digs out its path 
According to the principle of habit ; 
This path is the basis of retention 
And, when active, the condition of recall. 

51 



VERSES 

3n t^t Counttp 

Love, shall 1 now tell you my joys of today? 

How the larks and the sparrows in measures 
sang gay; 

How round me the cricket in the shady dell, 

'Mong the heathy grasses, sang a sort of 
knell 

To the lingering sunbeams, e'er they passed 
from its sight, 

E'er they left the green meadow, once mel- 
low with light. 

With fragrance a-sweet from the newly- 
mown hay? 

How the golden-rod, heavy, bowed its yel- 
low head, 

And the breeze winnowed gently o'er the 
hoary bed 

Of the dandelion, still erect in its stay; 

How the wind swayed the grasses, and leaf- 
lets away? — 

Yea, my love, yea, verily, this was my joy- 
ous day. 



Then I sat and listened, music low, aloud; 
Sombre, farther, cooler, wrapped in twi- 
light's shroud, 



53 



VERSES 

Slowly sank the Mistress, she the earth's fair 
swain, 

Quitting aught but shadow in her dusky- 
train. 

Slowly, slowly, gently, she forsook her 
charge. 

Set the darkness riot, let the night at large; 

With fair lustrous emblems now she gems 
the sky. 

With the moon, her daughter, and the stars 
on high; 

They alone speak, silent, of the glorious day, 

Tell of rays that fondled with the clouds at 
play, 

Of the sport of wind waves, fragrance sum- 
mer-sweet, — 

All a-rest at evening, Nature's happy mete. 

Sweetheart, yOur eyes are the blue heavens, 
Your hair is the golden sun, 
Your lips, the blossoms of roses, 

Your breath, the perfume thereon. 
Your smile is the love in earth's living. 
Your words are a prayer and thanksgiv- 
ing. 

53 



VERSES 

Think not I do love thee no longer, 
'Tis daily my heart is with thee; 

Indeed, I am grafted far stronger 
To thee, than could otherwise be. 

I cherish, where knowing might have 
pained me, — 
Ay, are we not all full of fault? — 
Hold sacred, where others but declaim 
thee, — 
Holy, as a dead in his vault. 

!&abe 9^ttt^i 

Have mercy on this pitiful soul, 

Have mercy, God, have mercy ! 
It knows not what its earthly goal, 

Oh, gracious God, have mercy! 
Its sinful bodv knows not rest, 

O Lord, be kind, forgiving! 

From evil thoughts it seeks thy quest, 

It craves thee, unbelieving. 
Its faith is but a moment's call ; 

Oh, God, teach it with mercy 
To know, that thou art one and all, 

Have mercy, God, have mercy ! 

54 



VERSES 

Farewell, my love, I say farewell ! 
Our paths have crossed, but parted; 
We met in youthful ecstasy, 
We parted sad, — disconsolacy ! 

Alas, 'tis by ! Yet to our good. 
Though suffering our companion; 
We've saved the remnants of our joy. 
We look back, pleased, on hours so coy. 

Farewell, my dear, love's last farewell ! 
Another course now calls me, 
A new life spreads its fields of cheer, 
Bright sunshine draws me from that bier. 

Ah, moon, thou playest peek-a-boo 
From out the clouds, and lover too ; 
The cricket sings its song to thee 
As though it longed up there to be; 
The breezes fan yon clouds away 
Until thou shin'st as fair as day; 
The leaves fond whispers sigh to thee, 
The hounds bay distant joyfully ; 
The stars are mellowed by thy light. 
Thy firmament is quiet night. 

55 



VERSES 

Que je suis heureux ! 
Comme je suis joyeux! 
Aujourd'hui il se marie 
A sa bonne, belle fillette! 

Si je disais la toute, toute verite, 
Je dirais que je suis tres heureux, 
Parce qui'il a trouve son bonheur 
Avec une vierge si belle, si claire. 

Mais si elle ne porte pas a lui 
La joie, dont il a besoin le plus. 
Puis je serai tres attriste. 
Ma vie n'aura point de felicite. 

The sweet, pure, charming influence 
That from thy pen has sped. 
Does haunt the heart and head 

With visions of life's munificence. 

The solemn, tangled mystery 
Bound up in Nature's realm, 
Thou hast led at the helm, — 

A master in the bounteous sea. 

56 



VERSES 



Sit ^untioton 

Long green shadows on the golden field 
Proclaim the evening coming; 

Slowly, slowly, wends his course 
The Sun; the busy humming 

Of the bees has ceased its soothing sound. 

The thrush and lark are silent round. 

The calm of night approaches gently, 
In the distant circuit of the sky ; 

Faint mooing in a far-off meadow. 
Then a weary, long-protracted cry ; 

Ah, Joy ! The fair day's task is over, 

'Tis but the milkmaid's pails uncover. 

Soon will the peace of twilight hover 
Above the veil on earth's fair brim, 

In restful strains cicadae scissor. 

The crickets sing their evening hymn. 

Then silence reign in blind dark stream, 

Sweet sleep dissolve the Earth to dream. 



VERSES 

Si ^tmot^ 

What memory lies in yonder song : — 

''Throw out the life-line," sad! 
What feelings creep up from the past, 

From autumn's last leaf-fall, 
For him, who ne'er has seen it more. 

Ne'er will see it again, 
For him, whose life was rich and full. 

Who, rent from loved one's arms, 
Lies peaceful in the far beyond. 

And there waits calm and still 
To greet the souls left grieved behind, 
Left desolate, left sad and blind! 

InUtimct 

His voice has raised me 'bove the earth, — 

The sense was means to senseless — 
To pure, ethereal, spaceless realm 

This broad extent converted. 
As high thought words sprang through the 
air, 

In cadence most perceptible, 
So in one unwatched moment flew 

The soul, in pure relation to 

The spirit, that it created. 

58 



VERSES 

'Tis sweet to long for the absent 
Who with love to us are befringed, 

Yet 'tis bitter to long unrequited, 
To long with a love that is tinged 

With the darkness, that it ne'er will be 
lighted 
To action, to a flight that is winged 
With the same sweet longing. 
With the like dear thronging 
Of thoughts and of heartbeats, — 

True love, yet not quite unselfish ! 

But how, when you long for the absent 
With the sweetness of earnest assurance, 
That love ends not with time's long endur- 
ance! 
That it glories to the end of eternity, 
Is limited not by fraternity, 
Expires but in the bounds of divinity ! 
It seeks not, nor does it find, 
It lives and dies, undivined 
By any but the love who knows, — 
True love, divine and unselfish ! 



59 



VERSES 

Si (BUmp&t ot Hafee <Ittit 

Snowy heaps / of clouds follow the South- 
wind's behest, 

As they glide from the heaven's blue crest 

To the far-off shores of the green waters 
below, 

Waters, that glisten in the shining glow of a 
noonday sun. 

Sparkle even in the purple shadows, that 
wander ever and anon 

With measured pace, like the footprints 
in desert lands 

Wafted from sight by the desert sands. 

Slowly, stately, as if laden with cargoes of 
gold. 

Roll the barges bound for the West ; 

Proud of the consorts in their fold, 

They plough the waves in hopeful quest 

Of merchandise, and of black gold. 



Sit Kibetisiitie 

My church is where my father lies, 

'Tis there I tell my sin; 
And out from him all goodness flies 

That fills my soul within. 

60 



VERSES 

Idle pass my days 

When my heart beats not in sorrow; 

Alas! I am weary always 

When I think not of the morrow! 

Woe, when pain me abandons ! 

Then life has lost its essence, 

All's to me a blank and a haze ; 

But, oh ! How my grief, though it stings 

me, 
Hardens the belief deep within me. 
Scourges, and feasts on my doubts 
Until far away are the clouds; 
And again basking sunshine ensnares me, 
I idle, frolic, and dare be 
A judge of my happy, sweet companion. 
He, who is perfect on the pinion 
Of an angel, in his flight, to the light. 

In idleness I challenge every creature 
To vie me in my sport of living. 
To be winner o'er me in giving, 
To victory me in laughter. 
To outdo me in life's joys; 
Alas ! There's then not the alloy 
That changes the gold into firmness, 
'Tis brass, glittering brass to the core. 

61 



VERSES 

Qh, Sorrow, thou my comforter and healer, 
My goad to action, to purity and pity! 

If thou wert not true, 

What then could I do, 

Who idle in thy glory, 

Thy sculptured, edgehewn work! 

With passion's suffering agony 
Thou, Sorrow, wanderest the forest, 
And cultivatest the dry wilderness, 
From marshes takest the morast. 
The poison; the human and the mortal 
Thou preparest for the portal 
Of the heaven, once to come. 

Alas, when sorrow leaves me, 

Then stand I in that great sea 
A helpless, moving mass of flesh 
A-drifting on within the mesh, 

Caught in the pound of living! 

Hence, Sorrow, thou my guardian. 

My tutor and salvation ; 

Let not the Idle hold me, 

Nor Happiness enfold me 

With its alluring sight; 

Let ever thy grief newly mold me, 
And ever thy power firmly hold me! 

63 



VERSES 

Thank God, I love no more, 

Indeed, no more adore! 
But only think of all 

As of a funeral pall, 
That spreads upon a dream, — 

Yea, 'twas naught but a dream — 
That shrouded all the past 

In purest white, and fast 
Has bound the cord of fate, 

Ere 'twas too late, too late! 
Alas! I love no more. 

No humankind adore! 

Woe ! My fate is sealed ! 
Hadst sooner been revealed 

1 might have spared me pain 

And might have brought him gain. 
He, who has loved me so. 
He, whose I am full-souled. 



Another twig is broken, 
Another sigh is spent, 
A bud lies wilted, lifeless, 
Another hope is rent! 

63 



VERSES 

Si SDteam 

I know a man whose mind my mate, 
And yet we are not mated; 

His heart belongs to his fair Kate, 
And mine is satiated, 

So now no longer fibres thrill; 

Indeed, it was not God's high will 

To give me hearth's warm glowing! 

I dreamt a dream, and dreamt it late, 
I dreamt, and waited, waited, — 

I dream it still at this late date, 
Alas, it seems created 

To never give my peace its fill; 

O, can it be that Spirit's will 

To never reap its sowing! 

I set to work at Art's command 
To ease the inner longing; 

I found no rest e'en at its hand. 
Such was the ever thronging 

That filled my soul, way down, within; 

Such was the turmoil, gloom and din, 

I could not find a mooring. 

I left the field to Plato's wand. 
My thoughts I led a-saunter ; 

64 



VERSES 

I found no solace in his land, 
And still today I wander, 
I know not where I should begin; 
O, Spirit, why this lasting din! 
Wilt thou ne'er end thy warring? 




Dost know the bittersweet. 

Hast seen it reaching to the sky, 

Hast noted how it firmly stands, 
Then round itself does twine 

For want of other prop or stay? 

Hast tasted of its bitter root. 
That ends in sweetness fair? 

Hast seen it shape an arbor cool 
'Gainst heats of midday glare, 

And known it to give shelter warm 
From Northwind's chill alarm? 

Alas, such bittersweet am I, 

Alone, self-twined, 
A mass of heart and mind 
That gladly would unwind 
If but thou touched it kind ! 



65 



VERSES 

I love thee, maid, but thou behev'st me not ; 
I clamor, heart, to quench my love at 

love's sweet shrine, 
But thou wouldst know none of such last- 
ing love as mine, 
Thou spurn'st devotion as a plagued plot. 

Thou think'st me cold, for thou dost know 

me not; 
And yet for thee there never beat a warmer 

heart 
Than speaks in silence at thy side my soul, 
Which, absent e'en, does love unroll. 

How oft, my friend, when in an hour of rest 
I sit me at the hearth's chill gloom, 
I wonder, maze, invoke my memories best, 
To see what little might bring up a bloom 
Upon thy mien, pale, in Madonna cast, 
Of beauty rarer than a lustrous pearl ! 

From out thine eyes such soulful life shines 

forth, 
A spirit bathed in sorrow speaks to me; 
Ah, love, if thou but knew'st my deepest 

worth, 

66 



VERSES 

Thou turn'st not cold thy loving heart 
from me; 
I worship where my sympathy flowed fully, 

free, 
If thou but yield'st me chance forever thine 
to be. 




^otV^ Siim 

'Tis poet's right to bring to light 
The people's thoughts and longings, 
To delve them out and lay them bare, 
To tell them, whether low or fair; 
His song must raise the mortal's pains, 
And faults and wants, to higher planes. 
Must lead them to a spiritual height. 
To joy and goodness, peace and light, 
To realms of thought, to action's field 
That gives no atom's chance to yield 
To sweet temptation, — bitter grief, — 
To poverty of degenerate weave! 
So poet's aim to paint shall be, 
But mainly elevate must he. 

67 



VERSES 

%o a 9^atben 

Why should I not rave o'er a maiden, 

And deem her a flower fair, 
Be ecstatic o'er graces of movement, 

Ay, mad with love, when her hair 
Is trained in strains and dear folds 

O'er her forehead, her eyes like two vio- 
lets; 
Those features, that lily touched with 
blushes, 

That voice as the sighing of rushes 
In the waves of the brook, as it gushes 

Between the pebbles and stones! 
Why should I not be enraptured. 

E'en I, though a woman myself! 



f^ 



tlTQou 

Thou art a fount of inspiration, 

In jets of clearest crystal flows thy life 

From springs so deep, creation 

Itself with all its highs and lows, its strife, 
Could not have marred my shining sight. 
When thou soar'st upwards in thy flight 

68 



VERSES 

In gems of purest jewelled thought, 
A giant, king, a master, aught 
That noble instinct could create, 
A ruler who has mastered fate. 

But how that rule? Not outward, nay, 
Within thyself thou rulest fate; 

Thy inward life its outer clay 

Molds as Pygmalion hew his mate ; 

A spark of genius is thy soul, 

Perfection is thy earthly goal. 

A cry burst through that aching heart, 

A cry that broke e'en hope apart 

From its abode, its last resource; 

Blank is the mind, the heart is cold, 

All courage fled, the case is void 

Of strength to hold the shriveling thread, 

Whose fibres one by one unwed ; 

The last faint hope has left the frame, 

The chase is o'er, caught is the game. 

O death, thou unrelenting foe. 

E'en thou canst not in peace hence go. 

E'en thou bring'st suffering, tak'st away 

The last warm ray for which we pray, — 

That we may meet on yonder way! 

69 



VERSES 

A pile of old historic stone, 

With square and pinnacled tower, — 
Its triad-buttress flying bold 

O'er aisles, through which a portal 
Looks gothic wide and gabled high 

Into St. Saviour's bower; 
'Tis Jesus' love-adoring shrine. 

This Southwark house of worship. 

Herein lie buried bones of dust. 
Once singing on the stage of life 

As on the stage of fiction. 
What could be fitter monument 

Than love, ideal united, 
Than martyrdom and sacrifice. 

Each to the other plighted. 
In Old St. Saviour's shafted vaults? 

Here Andrewes found his last repose; 

And Fletcher lies a-resting 
Within the choir of slender pose. 
Whose shafts mount from the floor on high, 
Whose piers are emblems of the power of 

genius. 
And deep-cut, pointed, lofty arch 

70 



VERSES 

Is open as the Book of Jesus; 

There Massinger and Edmund Shakespeare 

Lie hidden in their caskets old, 

Are one with God, and all the fold. 

On pages of the ponderous tomes, 
Whose wooden covers, ancient clasps, 
Hold names of sacred Scriptures worthy, 
Are writ in olden English scroll 
Such folk as Emerson's and Samuel John- 
son, 
As Goldsmith, and America's Harvard. 

Upon the pavement trod in prayer 
A Becket! Ladye Chapel's walls 
Heard heretic condemnations fall ! 
Here James of Scotland wed his love Joan, 
And Chaucer planned his Pilgrim band. 

The hallowed ground now fallow lies. 

Engulfed by brute, prosaic force; 

Here poesy and memory dies, 

Proud London knows no more the voice, 

The heart, that here in anguish lay; 

Forgotten is the noble clay; 

The glory shining once so bright 

71 



VERSES 



Beneath the echoing, vaulted nave, 
Where souls met in devout conclave, 
Is lost. Posterity, shame! Base shame! 



Si jfciend 

I know not the color of thine eyes. 
Nor know I the line of thy lips; 
I think not of thee as a man, 
But as a friend, ever true and strong. 
Unselfish in thy decision of celibacy — 
Health is not thy greatest possession — 
Thou wouldst not wed lest a burden 
To the maiden whose heart is thine own. 

Heroic in action and thought, 
Heroic in silence and suffering! 
Let me sit by thy side and hearken, 
Hearken to thy beauty in utterance. 
Modest as the fawn of the woodland, 
Truthful without asperity, 
Thou wouldst love the whole of humanity, 
And yet live thy life alone. 

73 



VERSES 

Her bloom has faded from Gaea's cheek, 

The blossom has lost its glow ; 
Forsworn seem the forces of nature, alas! 
'Gainst her, the hoped fruit of the Sun; 
Sweet, mellow when ready to harvest, to 

answer 
The boon of kings and brave knights in 

their choice; — 
Not too low for the courage nor chivalry of 
old. 
She a bud, that was nipped in the mold. 
Thus fair a gift had she been, forsooth, 
Had sunshine but ripened her to fruit! 

"^ 

Si ^Dttrait 

Could I but draw thy face with all its 

forcible lineaments, 
Its square towering frontal, striking as the 

broad expanse of sea! 
There, in that brow, are seen thy ruffled 

spirits, 
Thy calmness, or thy joy unbounding; 

73 



VERSES 

Like a mirror to thy soul it laughs, 

Thinks high, or jests in humorous wit; 

Strong 'neath the battlement's bold projec- 
tion 

Each feature stands across thy face: 

Eyes that can twinkle with the flash of 
thought, 

Or rest in trust upon a speaker's counte- 
nance, 

Or, again, in diffidence go search for under- 
standing, — 

Honest eyes, quick as thy thought to see 
and to know! 

Lips that are full, a fondness for talking. 

Chin square and firm like thy character 
withal ; 

I look at Thomas Huxley, and I see thee 
again, 

I read of his life, and thy mind makes its 
impress. 

&t Valentine dEbe 

Wrapt in a hood of dove-gray and pearl, 
The sky hangs lucid as a veil to the moon; 
Subdued and calm, as the covering of a 
babe, 

74 



VERSES 

The earth sleeps beneath the soft, downy 
sheet ; 
Jack Frost is secretly scampering about 
To nip by stealth the nose or the toe; 

No wayfarer finds himself free from the 
imp, 
Lest indeed it be he, who trodding alone, 
Is already pierced by a much surer 
thrust, — 
By Cupid, on this dear Saint Valentine Eve. 

My mind is sheathed in thine eyes. 
Oh, loose it, once more let me free ! 
Soft and protective in the darkness, 
Quiet, as in the shade of an elm, 
I gaze enrapt in thy beams; 
And 3^et I ask that thou free me ; 
Think why! No, thou know'st not where- 
fore! 

It is, that in the falling so deeply 

Into two black starry cairns, 

I find myself full in a heaven, 

The vision of which never returns. 

It is love's first sight that is telling, 

Though love's deep draught is compelling. 

75 



VERSES 

Deep in the pale of my heart 
Cupid's shaft, trembling sways its reign; 
The quiver is bared of its weapons, 
The last arrow flung to my depths. 
Exultant stands the little mischief. 
From his eyes he has torn the fold ; 
Still vibrates the bow at his elbow 
As he dances, beside him with glee ; 
Yes, boyling, you've conquered at last. 
You've spent your strength in the doing; 
Deep at the bottom of my heart. 
Sore with marvels of shafts. 
Is one that now you may shiver 
To pain, sweet, hopeful, enduring. 
Persevering, you've haunted me daily, 
Have shaken my soul to the marrow, 
Now you have won the great victory, — 
Never that shaft leaves my heart. 

And I thought of him, — and was happy — 
The heart was expanded to the love of 

Deity, 
The Earth was a shining star in the sky, 

As I thought of him, — and was happy. 

76 



VERSES 

Tl^t Silence ot Mi^it 

The clock ticks the passing hour, 

As the moon sheds a silvery sheen 

In the depth of midnight silence; 

Unfathomed as the space of the heavens. 

Unmeasured as the speechless sea, 

The night awes us to prayer ; 

Every bird is nestled in sleep, 

Each leaf is kissed by the air 

And cradled in the silence of moonbeams; 

Soft tread the fairies, a-dreaming 

They bend in the perfumed air, 

Silent as the non-existent, 

Dumb as the unknov^n nowhere. 

Aurora sped on her way 
O'er the blackest cloud of the night, — 
'Twas four o' the clock in the morning 
When the rain fell in torrents and seas, 
Aurora wheeled onward in leaps 
Over the chasms of lightning; 
Each leap sank in crashing bolts, 
Unwont to the rosy maid's coming. 

77 



VERSES 

Not a stir of the air, — like a crime, — ■ 
The atmosphere drenched as with poison, 
Hung low and heavy near the earth ; 
As a blazing battle of swords, 
As the hammer of Thor in his anger, 
Crash! Crash! The heavens moved madly, 
Redundant with malice and hatred. . . 

Then farther and farther the noises. 
The lights more distant appeared; 
Aurora came rolling more gently, 
Her leaps were fewer and less. . . 
At last 'mid the timid chirping, 
The song of the birds in the wood, 
She crept from out the night's garment, 
In flight from the storm and uproar. 
The trees breathed anew full of verdure. 
As the leaves swayed aloft in the breeze; 
The Light had conquered the darkness, 
And day, with its cheer, ruled the world. 




78 



VERSES 

2.n Imptt^&ion at ^ta 

As rolls the sea, and the ship's bow pitches, 

So swells my heart at sight of thee, 

So leaps my thought, as thy eyes like 

witches 
Enthrall my sense, beguile all me. 
Alas ! Again Puck's tricky wilings 
Have wounded, where but lately healed 
My life-blood flowed in sweetest streams, 
And now comes from the deep again. 

Not stormlike yet, nor calm as mirrors, 
But gently as the capless swell. 
Invisible as the cloud-clad moonbeams. 
But clear as crystal, pure as light; 
So am I tossed with love's warm longing, 
Unguided in its boundless sea; 
I love and yearn, but dare not claim thee, 
Alone I'm cursed to wander on. 

Hopeful, sad, deep meditation, 
Hanging at love's pliant thread, 
Loud delight, despair's dread darkness, 
Joy alone with love is wed. 
So thou too, I see entendered, 
Thou art one with me in thought; 
Thou art leaving, I am dreaming, 
We are one, and I am thine. 



VERSES 

SI?? iliatibt Counttg 

My native country, thee 
'Twere shameless to defy; 
On thy dear soil I'm free, 
In thy embrace would die. 

Thy youth with innate wealth 
Fair pomises doth lend; 
Thy glory stands in health, 
A strength that doth not bend. 

A race from many lands, 
A land of many climes, 
Cannot ancestral bands 
At once turn from confines. 

Our fathers, who so staunch 
Sought this dear freemen's shore. 
Have lent our blood a launch 
To ply life-ocean's door. 

Yea, 'tis but through the gate. 
Into the hallway cold. 
We've paced our steps to wait. 
And there find glittering gold. 

80 



VERSES 

For must not man have bread, 
Must he not clothe his frame, 
And then can onward tread. 
And think of nobler aim! 

Must he not till the soil, 
The depth of mine explore, 
Heed well that Nature's foil 
Doth not break in the door! 

Ay, when in comfort's reach 

We as a nation rest, 

Then will we soar to teach 

The world, with what we're blest. 

Then will we sing our songs 
Of Hudson legends, tales 
Of Rip Van Winkle's wrongs. 
And Sleepy Hollow^ dales; 

Of Pilgrims on the shore 
Of Plymouth coast and ledge. 
Of Independence War, 
And Constitution's pledge. 

We'll sing of East with zest, 
On Southern brilliance muse; 

81 



VERSES 

Raise high the torch to West, 
The North with Hght suffuse; 

Of beauty yet untold, 
The Yellowstone's steep flow. 
Of high Cordilleras bold, 
The Gate of golden glow. 

Then to De Soto's soil 
Our thoughts will onward wend, 
How Indian camp and spoil 
Gave aid discoverer's trend. 

We'll sail the river bound 
For Creole lands; advance 
Where beauties, rare, are found 
In dark-eyed woman's glance. 

In orange groves we'll hear 
What whispers lovers sigh, 
In palm tree's shadow peer 
Into beloved one's eye. 

New Orleans we'll embark, 

Cut through the Gulf's blue main. 

To where Menendez' spark 

First flamed for once great Spain. 

82 



VERSES 

The Suwanee River ditty 
We'll now reduplicate, 
Stop at the grand old city 
Saint Augustine, and Gate. 

We'll lead to northward then 
Through cotton, rice and corn, 
See gaily singing men. 
The negro, now joyborn. 

And then of Freedom's War, 
Once more we'll raise our voice. 
How Lincoln's eye, afar, 
Saw this the noblest choice. 

And when we've reached the Lakes, 
Whose depths are still unsounded. 
Cut blue Superior breaks, 
Chicago us astounded; 

Then once more we'll embark, 
Now for Pacific State, 
Pass toward the Tropic mark 
And to the Golden Gate. 

From Pasadena's charm 
We'll seek the northern pole, 

83 



VERSES 

Grasp our Alaskan arm, 
The Esquimaux extoll. 

Thus can we sing of zones 
As other none can claim; 
And thus with gorgeous tones 
In time we'll spread our fame. 

Thus, soon, in comfort's reach, 
When toil can claim a rest. 
Then shall we soar to teach 
The world, with what we're blest! 

Then will the time for Art 
Spread out its signal wing; 
Man give the godly part. 
The best within him sing. 

So let us clamber on, 

The goal is yet untold ; 

Soon will there come the dawn. 

The heavenly man unfold. 




84 



VERSES 

Is it the woman, is it the poet, 
Prays to bless you, build you strong! 
Guardless of self, without image of person, 
Nightly she kneels at her couch in prayer : — 
Bless him, oh, bless him, give fulness to 

longing. 
Make him as great as his soul craves to be; 
Guard him in goodness, give health, 

strength, endurance, 
Bless him. Creation, let him rise ever on! 
Moon, give him peace as he looks on thy 

countenance, 
Raise him aloft as his spirit seeks thee; 
Bless him, O God, increase all his powers ! — 
— Slowly she wends from her Lord to her 

pillow, 
Thinks not in love, but only in prayer : 
Asks Him to bless him, — and then finds her 

rest. 

a Hontio 

Sweet sound the chimes of night, 
As the angels sing their song; 

Loves come down in a throng, 
Hallelujah is their song. 

85 



VERSES 

The heavens resound in prayer, 
The clouds are glad with song; 

All the loves come down in a throng, 
Hallelujah is their song. 

The earth is radiant with light. 
As the sweetness of the song 

Of the loves, that come in a throng. 
Resounds : Hallelujah, Song ! 

Sweet as the chimes of the night. 
So the angels sing their song; 

Love comes down in a throng. 
Hallelujah is its song. 

(A Fragment.) 

There was peace in the Universe — 
The Sun alone was master. — 
At his bidding rolled the planets, 
The fixed stars obeyed his powers — 
They feared him, but were drawn to him; 
Law was the eternal command. 



86 



VERSES 

And millions of time flowed by. 
And the Sun was waning in strength : 
Repulsion attraction gainsaid — 
The planets grew barren of life; 
Yet the stars continued to glow — 
Law was the eternal command. 

And other worlds grew to life, 

Whose suns had not yet gone out, 

Other eyes beheld other things, 

There was coming and fleeting of strength; 

But Law was the eternal command. 

Sit t^t Catjebtftl of 99ae;titI)urQ: 

When culture meets culture, — harmony — ■ 
When interest finds interest, — joy — 
Though strangers, no strangeness. — 

Within the dark old choir, 

Musty with the dust of age, 

At the brazen casket of the bishop 

Sudden steps and a voice appear, — 

A gust of fresh Spring air — ^ 

Bishop Ernst almost rises to life, 

Tilly's boots bear flesh and blood, 

And Vischer's spirit is abroad. 

87 



VERSES 

That Gothic nave throws echoes, 
The alabaster Paul speaks out, 
Otho and Edith are living. 
The nineteen crowns strut as gold, 
And William's window is holy, 
Is rich as flowers of Spring, 
And Jesus with the bishop's mitre 
Discloses our souls akin. 

The holy of holies is entered. 
The slab over Otho discussed. 
The carved miserere delights us, 
The Christ-child at bath is alive. 
And while we do homage to Edith, 
And gaze down the nave 'mid the ribs, 
The organ resounds in the distance: 
Harmony binds souls akin. 



Above the mountain, white as milk 
A heap of clouds — like foam of milk- 
Clung to this mountain from the sky. 

88 



VERSES 

And where the edge cut into blue, 
There silhouetted stood, black-blue, 
The cedars' cross-armed pyramids. 

And in the vale behind me, lay 
Asleep the town by day, it lay. 
Its chalets' eyelids drooped in shade. 

And then I felt the line of hills. 
As curve meets curve of other hills, 
And shortly lost my way to fields. 

There down below me spread the lake, 
And high, far on, a glacier lake, — 
Mont Blanc in all its whiteness linked. 

And once more peep of town I took, 
And once more hold of me it took, 
And gave me joy in its repose. 

A dozen roofs, a church or two, 
A country road, another, two. 
That fell into the depth of wood. 

And farther still I turned my foot, 
Pursued the heifer's printed foot, — 
The sound of cowbells drew my ear. 

89 



VERSES 

And as I tramped and tired grew, 
The shady shades and coolness grew, 
And asked me to take rest thereby. 

I stretched me in the soft sweet down, — 
The hay and grasses were the down — 
And Hsted to this httle world. 

For who e'er heeds that little world, 
That at our feet is crushed, that world 
Of hundred, — more, — and useful lives! 

And while I sat and wrote these thoughts, 
A tinkling tink came to my thoughts, 
A tink up high, a tink down low, 
A tink, kling, kling, — and kling, tink, tink, 
A jumping, tinkling, tink, tink, tink; 
As white and brown, and gray and gray 
Came nearer from the gabled stay. 
It gave me thrill of Alpine sound, 
That ne'er was felt at heart before. 

And klink, kling, kling once more afar, 
A white and black and yellow scar 
Came down to hollowed trunks to drink, 
And nearer brought the tinkling tink; 
A picture as ne'er painter saw 
Bewitched my eye, — I could not think. 

90 



VERSES 

l^ittt^ Cfiateau 

A little nearer the clouds 

Up here by the Vieux Chateau, — 

A heap of pebbles and dust 

This once habitation of men. 

Not many are the years gone by 

Since the master's voice set command, 

Now he is moulded to ash, — 

His walls, set for ages, at last 

Have found but a like passing fate: 

The doom of all man's vain prate. 

The birds hover about in the trees, 
Next year finds a new nest built, — 
Let man forsake his old home, 
And Nature will take hold the field. 
And yet, homo, glori'st at thy art 
That dies as the wind on the wing, 
Forge tt' St what a finite thou art. 
What a pigmy in a universe of worlds. 

As I gaze at the blue sky above. 
So limitless in its extent, — 
And think of the spaces beyond, 
I sit and am quite content 
To feel, that some day will come 

91 



VERSES 

When I too shall see these far worlds, 

When I too shall evolute, go on 

To a being, a state higher still, 

Shall approach, if but an atom in strength, 

To a god, be ideal at length. 

And below me there lies the small lake, 

Geneva's fair namesake and pride; 

'Tis blue when you see it at hand, 

Up here but a mist in the plain. 

And the mountains like hills skirt its shore, 

The Alps and the clouds are not high, — 

A bit but this earth and the sky. 



<^ 



(Btanimu0 

Only I am left of him, and they ; 

He to me forever gone ! 
Spirit is but life, and he is dead, 
Mine but is alive of his, and theirs, — 

He is gone, forever gone. 
Death has broke the chain, the link is cleft,- 

And we, living, seek a new wend; 
He is gone, ne'er will we see him more. 
Death is not beginning; 'tis the end. 

92 



VERSES 

Italic 

Italy, fair dream of the past, 
Of but a year ago! 
How I crave thy sight, dear Venice shores; 
And of Perugian height how my inner eye's 
delight 

Uncoils the memories bright! 
Of Florence with its palace rooms of art, 

its heart 
Alow among the olive gray, the Cyprus 
black. 

And Vallombrosa blue; 
Its broad stream flowing 'neath the gold- 
smith's bridge of yore, — 

Of but a year ago! — 

And on to Rome I wander 'mid the ruins 

glade, 
And in a Sunday shade my eye does fade 
Into a past of Caesars, past, yea, past — 

Yet but a year ago! 
And now Sorrento, Capri, orange dales, 
Sweet fragrant gales, beneath a sky that 

hails 
The deepest sea to counterfeit its blue, 
And Naples Bay, Vesuvius on high, 

93 



VERSES 

All bid me seek their springtime air, so 
fair, — 

A memory! — A year ago! 

Ah, take me back to Italy again, 
Away from men, into the den of Nature 
true, 

To smile and joy the joys 

Of but a year ago! 

{lOoman 

Woman, thy place is at man's side, close 
to his heart; 
Thou art above him, being of thy free own 

will beneath, 
Thou art his equal, setting self aside for 
humankind. — 
He is thy pard, thou mate and comrade 
unto him; 
Spare him and thee the fruitless wrangle 

between man and woman. 
Be unto him as man to man, not unto frailer 
woman ; 
Ah, Weakness, thine to make or mar, 
Thine heaven is, or thine is hell. 



A^ E R S E S 

Thrust, nay not thrust, but drifted 
From passion deep to flight of thought 
Whose welkin height was yet not clear, 
Until arrived at sublime religion, 
In words and deeds far beyond voicing; — 
Such state unutterable joyed the being 
While castle clad in Springtime veil, 

And clime and verdure and the song of 

bird, 
Lay peaceably on mountain side 
By river edge and town and tide, — 
For is not Neckar wave a Rhine son, 
Whose Delta plied by ocean's flow! — 
In quiet lay the town below 
Where Old and New Bridge cross the 

stream, 
Flanked by a path on yonder shore, 
Whereof the line in misty blurr 
Is lost, and haze bedims the towers 
Of Speyer good many a mile away. 

Not proudly gay, nor stately handsome, 
But lovely with an inmost peace, 
The walls and massive-towered ruin 
Look back on years in glory spent, 

95 



VERSES 

While well-nigh buried in a bed of green- 
wood 
Allure the worldsick, wandering eye 
To rest in placid thought and lore. 

^^ 

Thank fate, I had the judgment to slip 

away! 
My heart was full, and yet my head was 
strong. 
I loved you, — 't is so true — as none I loved 
before, 
I loved you, as one loves to wed; 
'Twas not ideal, nor yet the sense alone 
That drew me to you in those first sweet 
days. 
Ah, sweet they were, too sweet for 

aught 
But lovers, lost in pure devotion! 
You are not of my kin, but love 
Thought to o'erlook. My head was 
sound, 
It saw what later days would know too well : 
We would have parted as we'd met, — a sud- 
den. 

96 



VERSES 

mit^ Patience 

I love you, love, when you're away, — 

My voice cries out to see you; 
And when you come, I'm all astray 

In thought, e'en though I'm near you. 
You are not I, I am not you. 

That is the tragic climax ; 
You know not me, I know not you. 

What is it? Folly? — Patience! 

1^11 try again, and o'er again, 

I'm sad, I weep, despair! 
You're not my sister, left in pain, — 

You 'nd I seem not a pair. 
And yet we are but lovers still. 

Oh, folly, is it true? 
Ah, no, I'll not despair with will, 

I'll try again with patience. 

^^t (Bbn Btm 

Strange what fancies take a hold. 

How the past is linked to present, — 
How the love that was of old 
Signs a pact, as omnipresent 
As the firmament so bare at daylight. 
Glorying bright within the dark night. 

97 



VERSES 

Thou art to me the synonym of soldiery, — 

As brave in war to serve thy country, home 

and king 

As ever man who gave his Hfe for cause; 

And yet the tender in thee makes me weep, 

It touches with its glory the hardness of my 

heart. 
Thy wit, thy mind, thy tastes are of a gen- 
tleman, 
Thy love of sport the soldier is in peace; 
Thy sensibilities are of art, 
Thy patriotism the soldier's part. 

Si SDateoHtl 

A daffodil grew across my path, 
Of fragrance charming-sweet, 

Of slender pose, whose breath of thought 
Swept grace from crown to feet. 

And in each petal saw I soul, 
In lips, in eye, in cheek, — 

And in the smile's quick come and go 
Did golden sunshine speak. 

98 



VERSES 

And when the lips sent words, though 
few, 
Warm Springtime winds sped o'er the harp, 

There was a light within — from you — 
And sounds as of a glorying lark. 

Most tender goodness was the spell 
That flowed into a human heart, — 

A stranger took a stranger well — 
Sweet daffodil had done its part. 

My love has gone a-roving 
Out into pastures gay — 

And I am left, a-loafing. 
To long for her away! 

She gave me one last greeting 
With tightened lips and tongue, 

I could not tell the beating, 
Her heart she'd not unstrimg. 

And yet I trust her feeling — 
'T is Nature made us one. 

The law of mind revealing 
Each unto each alone! 

99 



VERSES 

<^|^e Hontton ^abbatj) 

Not the sound of a wheel, not a grinding, 
Naught but the wind in the Square; 

Morning, noon and evening 

Silent, but for the breath of air, — 

The Brakeman of the world's greatest city. 
Toil, stops the gears of his care. 

Full a thousand of roads in the ant-hill, 
Millions of hives snug the way ; 

Tomorrow the goad of the Brakeman 
Stirs the mites all to play, — 

A love of labor and of barter 
Starts the wheels of each day. 

Not this, 'tis the day of the Sabbath^ 

Chimes only float on the air, 
The bees are honeying the spirit ; — 

I ask myself faintly : "Where 
On the bosom of Earth's crusty circuit 

A like day of like careless care?" 




100 



VERSES 

Oh ! — I have longed all day for a word from 
you, 
For some sign of love or of interest; 
You have said good-day, and how-do- 
you-do. 
But alas, you've not sought me with in- 
terest. 

You have kissed me for the pleasure it 

has given you, 
Not for what of joy there might be for 

me. . . 
You pain not yourself to know more of 

me, . . . 

My thoughts are to you strange as my 
living ! 

My doings are to you naught of action 

and of time. 
And I give you love, words and deeds, — 
I give without slight returnings — and 
climb 
Down to your heart, and sow seeds 

That never will sprout, not even in 
time. 

101 



VERSES 

Today above all I needed your thought, 
You gazed not with understanding, and 

sought 
Only to feel your own living ! . . 

Ah, love, I love, and love only you, . . 

'Tis music, that tells of my secret, . . 
Alas, that's why I am suffering too, 
I'm not happy in living thus on with 
you! 

dOomatt anb 9pan i& ^nttttion 

There are days when the world is all beauty, 
When love speaks glad from each face, 

When all our possessions are perfect, 
Expression in art finds its grace. 

The emotion of high mounting passion 
Tears body and mind in its pace ; 

The heart bounds to wooing and action, — 
The god of love in the chase. 

I know well the cause of such joying. 
And others, some, know why the maze ; 

I'll not tell, you'll find me a-soaring 
Again, just search in my gaze. 

103 



VERSES 

'Tis electric, this force in our living, 
Subjective its source and its phase, - 

The genesis of man in creation, — 
The power of mind fills all space. 

Woman and man is perfection, 
Each unto the other his place. 

Each is alike unto other. 

Together the sponsor of race. 



I would give m3^self to thee 

As I long to give myself, — 

Soul and thought, yea, each and all, 

All I will and have and be. 

To the lowliest I would stoop 

To unite all me with thee, 

To behold in fullest sight 

All in thee and me of light ; 

Then rise upward, each with each, 

Until beyond stars we reach ; 

In a mutual understanding 

Earth and heaven, e'en God commanding. 

103 



VERSES 

Let me die, Fate! Purest joy is not in time's 

nor man's endurance, 
No happiness can be eternal — and mine is at 

its height this day. 
The tragic, that tomorrow may come the 
sorrow, come awakening, 
Throws shadows on the present hght; 
O, Fate, hence let me die tonight! 

^^ TBtOtitt 

Tears fill the eye as I think of thee. 
Good and faithful, loving, kind; 

How deeply we might welded be 

If heart remained with heart, and blind 

We were to all but thee and me ! 

But large the tempting world without, 
That draws us each to test our strength; 

Each with a power, not small, endowed. 
Must challenge trial at fullest length. 

I wish thee happiness, my love, 
All goodness, comfort and success; 

No space nor time shall rend our love. 
Thine ever be mv fond caress. 



104 



VERSES 

And still the tears flow through my pen. 
For thou art far from here and me; 

I long to see thy face again, 

Would but a moment be with thee. 



Silon}o 

My heart has bid me think of you, 
It seeks your presence dear; 

'T is Sunday eve, the air is cool, 
The voices gay and near. 

You are away in bugles' realm, 
Perhaps of wounds are rent; 

Could I but hear your voice again. 
Your eyes on mine search bent! 

Hear tales of honored soldier's craft, 
Of desert, wood and plain; 

Eke out your depth of soul and mind, 
Besmile your wit ! 'Tis vain ! 

In memory hushed, I must abide 

The joy I cannot own; 
In phantasy for years must hide, 

Confine my longing's zone. 

105 



VERSES 

I know it well, thou art too good for me, 
Unworthy am I such as thine ! . . 

In goodness, patience none can like thee be, 
And I am rough and wild, unkind. 

Take me to Thy haven, God, take me to 

Thy breast; 
Stately slow I come along, black the bier 

I rest. 
Pale is feature, cold is hand, silent lip and 

heart and thought; 
See I angels at my feet, guards that watch 

my slow assent; 
Upwards to the peace fold come I, solemn is 

my dread approach; 
But the entrance barred is firmly, — not my 

life have I done right. 
Sin has crept through brain and marrow, 

unto friend have I been fraud ; — 
Solemn, dread I come, an outcast; heaven's 

not for such as me. — 

Heaven means to live henceforward higher, 

purer than at first; 
Leave a trace upon the races, leave a touch 

that ne'er will fade. 

106 



VERSES 

Heaven is the goal eternal, never found by 

man's weak frame; 
God is goodness, is perfection, is the whole, 

the world, the all. 
On eternal, good, progressive, — not step 

backward, nor stand still. 



J» 



^0 75t ;at <3Dm 

A loneliness enthralls the mind, 
Its callous chastisement has not 
Yet robbed it of the tender longing 
To be at one with joyous Nature! 

To be at one! Alas, such is the ever yearn- 
ing! 

At one ! It is the end endeavored, unattained. 

No malice fills the heart at sight of bud and 
sun, 

Nor love, nor hope, but yet this single last- 
ing yearning 

To be at peace, at rest, united with the 
Universe, 

107 



VERSES 

To be at one, to feel that life is still worth 
living, 

That game and chance are not within crea- 
tion's realm. 
That there is God, and God is purpose! 

Ah! Is there God? O, would that I could 

see it, know it! 
And would, that knowing, still could lead a 

life of action! 

Universe, fair Nature, is there not a token 
To put the faith of trust within a burning 

breast ? 

1 chide not parent, nor the school of learn- 

ing, 
It seems within the sphere of Nature 
To cast me 'mong the glad, the faithful. 
Interrogation as my being's essence. 
I cannot trust, I long eternal! 

My heart has found repose, the anchor 
Now staunchly braves it 'gainst the sea. 

And with mine fetters, safe from rancor, 
I bide my time ; the storm be free ! . . 

The ship of love sails on protected; 
My anchor, thou, I trust in thee. 

108 



VERSES 

My dearest ! Upon my knees I pray for thee ; 

To whom I pray, I know not, yet I pray. 

Thy goodness and my lov^ are here united, 

Th)^ goodness is the essence of my long- 
ing .. . 

— With hands clasped on my brow, low o'er 
my couch 

I lie, my innermost in pure submission; 

Bowed, pleading flows my soul out for thy 
good, 

Thy welfare is my last fond hope and wish ! 

9i^on0ieut tt Q^atiamt Cutie 

Monsieur Curie is dead, a victim to the act 

of courtesy! 
Science, truth, united with the warming 

charm of heart. 
Asunder torn to leave undone the chemist's 

service to the world, 
A service, coupled with the effort of brave 

woman : 
Madam Curie, a scientist, and ah, a 

woman ! 

109 



VERSES 

Witmtmbtsintt 

It was a happy Spring that year, 
But all too short, the dream had vanished 

from my hold; 
Not yet forgotten are the days with you I 
spent. 
And Autumn drops a fear upon the 
mound of passed affection. 

The vine of the wine you seem to me, 
The blossom, the sweetest in all the realm ; 
But a moment the fragrance, and is gone 

again. 
A memory the scent, out-timing the years, 
'Tis deep, 'tis sweet. The fruit of the bloom, 
Who loves not the sight, when drop clings 

to drop? 
Heart intertwines mind, a pearl here of wit, 
A pearl there of thought, a sparkle, a gem. 
As the tendril's delicate touch toward the 

sky. 
And the staunchness brave of the hardy 

stem. 
So you are in tenderness, you are in 

strength. 

110 



VERSES 

^anta Eutta 

(From the Italian.) 

Lightly upon the sea 
Skims my bark fondly ; 

Sweet maid, O, come with me, 
We will go gondoling. 

Calm are the moonlit waves. 
Fair are the breezes, 

Star bright in silver laves, 
Come, my bark pleases! 

With this warm zephyr air, 
Fragrant and tender, 

O, how sweet 'tis to share 
The sea's calm splendour! 

Out in serenest night 
Far scatter sorrow; 

Come, maid, list to my plight, 
My mandolino! 

Lightly in love's accord 
Soars my song fleetly; 

Why stayest thou thy word? 
The moon smiles sweetly. 

Ill 



VERSES 

Come to my bark, my maid ! 
Silent the oarsman, 

Placid the water's shade, 
Gladful the even. 

I have received the blessings of a dying man, 
A man of four score years, in faculties 
As full as man of two score ten. 

I have received his last, his very last sweet 
smile. 
In open-mouthed, real earthly, godlike 

joy. 

As fell his eye upon my sudden sight. 
Good Gods, of Being, of Death, Hereafter, 
Now and all. 
How is it I deserved such welcomed 
thought ? 
A dying man, glad to pass into the beyond, 
And yet unwonted glad to see me at his 
side! 
I touched his hand, as daughters fanned 

his brow, 
I could not speak, I could not utter 
word — 

112 



VERSES 

For feelings, tears swept thoughts into my 

heart, 
Good Gods, let me do worthy the last of 

love. 
Of truth, of blessing as it rayoned from that 

presence, 
As life was standing judgment at the end! 

Ten years and three since I had stood at 

grim death's door before; 
Then, too, a last farewell, — though knowing 

not its meaning — 
A seizing, pressing of the hand by parent 

dying, 
A look as if to say, — Upon you falls the 

burden. . . 
And when it came I could not grasp it ! 
I felt that will, his will, must bring him 

back. 
Must keep him. How little knew I death's 

undoing ! 

Grim master, but the sighing of a breath 
'tween you and being! 

All that an hour ago pulsated full of hope 
and action, 

Hewn from the human realm, a nothing ! . . 

113 



VERSES 

A current cut, a consciousness at large! . . 
How? Where? And Why? Good Gods, give 
answer ! 

As tree is dead and violet dying, 
As bird falls from its living flight, 

So man 

she spoke expiring ! 

There is a void within my life, 
A something gone, that consciousness would 
not confess, 
A something basic in my nature. 
The liquid of my mind fermenting, 
A large air bubble floats within the new 
concoction. 
Less violent, let us hope more potent. 

And yet this bubble, what its purport? 
I trust that air too, with its power omnipo- 
tent. 

Will bring back balance to my life ! 

That void will form a welted wholeness, 
It was the all, the only mine in former days ; 

Again I have it, it will hold me. 

114 



VERSES 

flDnce 9^ott 

Stromboli once more active as in Virgil's 
days, 

San Vincenzo, Bartolomeo in despair ; 

And yet but double thousand would be suf- 
fering there, 

A paltry few, if suffering can be measured 
so, 

Think you of Reggio and destroyed Messina 
fair. 

Once more wild Scylla and Charybdis reign 
supreme, 

While pestilence chokes erstwhile human life 
and verdant 
Of Sicily, the flower of Italy. 

Emmanuel, his queen, the Montenegrin 

princess, 
Trod bravely, kindly lending hand and love 

and word 
Amongst the maddened, naked, famished, 

bleeding, fleeing 
Flames, waves and quakes, and rumblings 

in the bowels of Earth. 
Aetna as yet — the monster of historic past — 
In silence, threats to crazed imaginations 

speaks ; 

115 



VERSES 

Vesuvius lies reminiscent of distress 

While Naples clad once more in nurse's 
dress. 

The Earth is growing smaller, larger day by 
day, 

As Nations, clustered in a common cause of 
aid. 

Reflect the irony of fate, — in battleships 

They comfort bring to maimed and hun- 
gered, agonized! 

What sea has left and fire, and wrecking 
walls pour forth, 

Is carried thence to Napoli by Britain, 
French, 

By us, by Russian, German, every sailor 
strong. 
While Italy mourns her fair Sicily. 

tIE8t ^tageti^, JLitt 

1 would burst all the ties of love, — ^but the 

One; 
And would shred the conventions of 

living; 
And the talk of the town I would tread 

with my feet, — 

116 



VERSES 

Not even hate would I give to the scur- 
rilous. 
Nay, life is not worth the love of hate and 

the hate of love; 
I love none, — but you! — I scorn the rich so 
rabid with the curse 
Of gold, that rivets them basely to life's 

sins. 
I laugh at the learned, who know not their 

own unculture, — 
I clutch to a nothing, an unspaked hope, 
not of life, 
But of betterment in the ages to come, to 

the animal called human. 
O Gods, O nothing, O Hope, brace me in 
the tragedy of life! 
Let me laugh at the weakness, — it is all 
too sad to cry! 



^^t student SDapsi ate paj^t 

The student days are past, — I weep! 
They brought such joy as none in life; 
Pure, keen and mental in their uplift deep. 
They raised me unto spheres ne'er scanned 
before. 

117 



VERSES • 

All past! No student more of free and care- 
less soul! 
Within the lecture-room and near 
An air of calm serenity and hope, 
The hope of knowledge, key to this and 

all the worlds^ — 
Alas! A student's dream — a shell without 

the germ! 
The woman student and the man drank in 

the cup 
Of truth, as spake authority with experi- 
enced age. 
We listened and had faith in him until, 
Now past those years, life has upset yon 

days; 
Living has joined its force with abstract 

truth, 
The hours of student's faith and joy are 
sunk 

From whence no freedom, be it yet so 
kind, 
Can bring the irresponsible in youth and 

thought. 
Life crude, concrete, commanding throws 
its feelers out, — 
It clutches to demand its right; 

118 



VERSES 

Responsibility weighs us down, cast we not 

soon 
Material to the nether realm, again to dwell 

Upon the height with gods of thought. 
Alas, the student days are past — and yet I 

hope! 

Won anil J 

There ne'er is a like relation 

As that twixt you and me! 
Each had not thought before the other 
Without expression knew its purport. 

Together as we were from morn till night, 
Each caring for the other's thought and 

doing, 
Each long divining what the other's feeling, 
Each telling by the step, the voice, the eye- 
brow 
What was within the soul of other. 
Oh love, you're bleeding; what of me. 
Who've lost my all in losing you? 
'Twas with my will I made the changes, 

119 



VERSES 

Yet without cost I thought to gain them. 
Fm sore, I'm suffering, I am hollowed 
Like trunk of tree, whose strength is fail- 
ing; 
You were the blossoms of this tree-trimk. 
Now marrowless I sprout to skyward. 



120 



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